Nurse Recogniton programs at hospitals

Hi everyone, at my hospital in Washington state we are considering a nurse recognition program with the Daisy Foundation. I am trying to find other nurses that might be familiar with this program, the ins and outs, how it works in your hospital. Does it adequately highlight the terrific work done by RNs? Does it work for the RNs? Was it difficult to start up? Any info would be helpful in getting this program off the ground and any feedback on the program itself. Thank you. Lorna Sebastian

who are these programs recognizing- there's NO nurses left- we are mostly unemployed??

Jun 4, '09

I'm sorry to hear you are unemployed. In Washington nursing jobs are quite abundant and my hospital is wanting to increase retention by honoring nurses each quarter rather than once a year. I wish you well in finding further employment. If it doesn't work where you are, come to Washington State. Thanks for responding. Lorna

Jun 5, '09

It wasn't specific to nursing, but I was in a training seminar a while back in which the instructor talked about motivating and recognizing staff. The actual program was conducted in a large hardware store, but it could be applied to any work setting.

The store was experiencing declining productivity, and there were morale problems among the staff. There was no money for salary increases or promotions, so a first-level supervisor tried to come up with a low-cost way to motivate employees. He came up with the idea of an employee of the week with a prize of a troll doll (some of us are old enough to remember those), which would ride in the winning employee's shirt pocket for an entire week. Measurable criteria were used to determine the winner, and these were detailed in a staff meeting when the program was implemented. The troll was a visible symbol that would stimulate conversation with both coworkers and customers, which gave the employee a chance to brag a bit about his or her accomplishment.

The first-level manager who came up with this scheme - total cost about $2.00 - was the instructor for the course. He said that before long there was intense competition for the troll. Everybody wanted it. Productivity surged and people showed more pride in their work - especially those who carried the troll that week.

The point is that motivation doesn't have to cost a lot of money. It can come from something simple like a cheap doll, but the important thing is the public recognition.